Walking-type concrete edger

ABSTRACT

A concrete edger comprising a rigid plate wherein at least one marginal edge is provided with a depending lip-like flange joined to said edge by a concave-convex contouring edge-shaping web. An elongated push-pull handle is disposed at an oblique angle and can be caught hold of and conveniently utilized while the user is either standing or walking. The central top side of the plate or blade is provided with an integral upstanding stud by way of which a connector on the forward lower end of the handle is detachably and adjustably coupled to the stud. The handle can be operatively united with the plate and rotated relative thereto to assume the position desired.

United States Patent 1 Granger, Jr.

[ WALKING-TYPE CONCRETE EDGER [76] Inventor: Joe Granger, Jr., 509 Tennessee St.,

Clovis, N. Mex. 88l0l [22] Filed: July 1, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 158,940

1,524,633 l/l925 Polican 306/44 Primary Examiner-Nile C. Byers, Jr. Attorney-Clarence A. O'Brien and Harvey B.

Jacobson [57] ABSTRACT A concrete edger comprising a rigid plate wherein at least one marginal edge is provided with a depending lip-like flange joined to said edge by a concave-convex contouring edge-shaping web. An elongated push-pull handle is disposed at an oblique angle and can be caught hold of and conveniently utilized while the user is either standing or walking. The central top side of the plate or blade is provided with an integral upstanding stud by way of which a connector on the forward lower end of the handle is detachably and adjustably coupled to the stud. The handle can be operatively united with the plate and rotated relative thereto to assume the position desired.

1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures Pmmsnww 3.758.909

Fig.

Joe Granger, Jr.

INVENTOR.

BY @zmmiam WWW 19m 1 WALKING-TYPE CONCRETE EDGER This invention relates to a manually actuatable concrete edger which, generally stated, is characterized by a rigid plate or blade having at least one marginal edge provided with a depending lip-like concrete contouring and shaping flange, an elongated handle capable of controllable use while standing or walking, and novel means for connecting a lower forward end of the handle to a central portion of the plate.

Tools and implements which are expressly con structed and designed for edging poured concrete are of many and varied types. As is known see U.S. Pat. No. 3,045,271 the tool proper comprises a rigid substantially rectangular plate or blade having its primary top and bottom surfaces flat. One marginal edge is provided with a relatively narrow depending flange which is commensurate in length with the associated edge and is joined to said marginal edge by a concave-convex contouring and shaping web. Handle means is bolted or otherwise secured to the central top side of the plate or blade and is ordinarily such in construction that the user has to stoop, kneel and crawl to use it. Where the job at hand involves widespread and extensive edging valuable time and labor is involved. Accordingly, there has long existed a need for a long-handled edger. It follows that it is an object of the present invention to provide a relatively long push-pull walk along handle and novel means by way of which the lower forward end of the handle is detachably and adjustably joined with the plate.

For background purposes the reader, if so desired, may assess the handle-equipped concrete edger shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,045,271 granted to Julius A. Cinotti. Secondly, and because it also is indicative of the state of the art to which the invention relates, consideration can be accorded the walking edger disclosed in a patent to Cyrus Sanford, U.S. Pat. No. 2,419,167.

With the foregoing information in mind it will be evident that it is an object of the present invention to advance the field of concrete edgers by offering for adoption and use the herein disclosed edger, that is, an adaptation which is simple, practical, economical, will appeal to manufacturers, retailers and users and will well serve the purposes for which it has been devised.

' Briefly, the concrete edger herein revealed comprises, broadly stated, an appropriate rigid plate or blade having its major bottom side planar and capable of working, smoothing and finishing a given concrete surface. This plate has at least one of its four marginal edges provided with a depending lip-like flange, that is, a relatively narrow flange which is joined to the coacting marginal edge by a rounded concrete contouring and edging web. The central portion of the top side, which may also be planar, is provided with an upstanding integrally joined stud. An elongated push-pull handle is provided and is amply long that it can be conveniently caught hold of and utilized while the user assumesa standing position or alternatively, a walking position. A connector characterized by a shank is carried by the lower forward 'end portion of, the handle. This shank, in turn, is provided with a mounting head, that is, a head which is detachably and adjustably connected to and mounted on the head mounting and holddown stud and nut or other means on the stud which provides the desired assembling and clamping result.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view showing a fragmentary portion of concrete which is being worked and showing, more particularly, the improved edger and how it is constructed and capable of valuable time and labor saving use.

FIG. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view on a suitably enlarged scale and which shows the component parts and their construction and association.

And FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the plate or blade, the handle mounting connector and the associated assembling and clamping means for the connector.

The aformentioned plate or blade is denoted by the numeral 6, the elongated oblique angled stand-up and walking handle is denoted by the numeral 8 and the connector through the medium of which the lower forward end of the handle is positioned and mounted is denoted by the numeral 10.

Reverting to the plate (FIG. 3) it will be evident that the top and bottom sides or surfaces of the body part of the plate are flat. In practice this plate is strong and durable and it measures five by six inches and should preferably be made of an acceptable IO-gauge-metal. Three marginal edges of the plate are shown at 12, 14 and 16. The other marginal edge is characterized by a relatively narrow depending lip-like flange 18 which is coextensive with the edge with which it is associated and is connected thereto by a concave-convex junctional web 20. The central portion of the top side of this plate is provided with an integral upstanding stud 22, that is, a stud which has an enlarged lower end portion 24 integrally united with the plate and which consti tutes a non-circular shoulder substantially square in horizontal cross-section. The upper reduced end portion of the stud is screw-threaded as at 26 to accommodate an assembling and clamping nut 28. This two-part rugged stud serves to accommodate, in addition to the nut 28, the aforementioned one-piece connector 10 and upper andlower stud-encircling washers 30 and 32.

The connector is characterized by a shank 34 having a reduced tang 36 at one end and an elongated rectangular flat-faced head 38 at the other end. The head is joined to the shank by a bendable junctional portion 40, that is a portion which is capable of being bent so that the angularity between the plane of the head 38 and shank 34 can be varied to locate the handle 8 at an advantageously angled position. The central portion of the head is provided with a non-circular substantially square opening 42 which is fittingly applied to the flat faced non-circular shoulder 24. This is to say the apertured portion of the head is fitted over the shouldered portion of the stud in the manner illustrated to best advantage in FIG. 2. In actual practice the lower end portion-44 of the handle is tapered and is sheathed and shielded by a properly constructed reinforcing ferrule 46 as brought out in FIG. 1.

The disclosed walking edger lends itself to feasible and desirable use when the job at hand calls for widespread time and labor consuming jobs. Experience shows that the edger devised handles the job quickly and with ease. in fact when a sidewalk is pured, a walking edger is ideal because the walking position enables the user to edge the work with rapidity compared to the customarily used edger requiring stooping and body tiring kneeling. Experience has also shown that the edger achieves the desired end results not only rapidly but with required accuracy. When the situation is one which calls for rotation of the edger or the handle relative to the edger the job can be accomplished from a stand-still position in a quick and easy step-by-step manner. There are no springs to break and no fragile component parts which require or necessitate special attention. intact, the surfaces of the blade or plate can i be readily scraped and cleaned after the edging job has been finished. Then, too, the plate is amply rugged that it will withstand the use of tools or implements which may necessarily be used for hammering and dislodging hardened concrete.

A careful consideration of the several views of the drawing and an evaluation of the component parts and the manner in which they are constructed and arranged is believed to be self-evident. Accordingly, a more extended description is deemed to be unnecessary.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

I. A manually grippable and actuatable walkalongtype concrete edger comprising, in combination, a rigid plate having flat top and bottom sides and one straight marginal edge portion provided with a depending flange joined to said edge portion by a concave-convex concrete contouring and edge-forming web, a rigid centralized upstanding stud having an enlarged lower end portion integrally joined to a central portion of said top side and a reduced upper end portion which is screw-threaded, said lower end portion being substantially square in cross-section and providing a head anchoring shoulder, an elongated push-pull handle amply along that it can be caught hold of and conveniently used while the user is standing or, alternatively, walking, a one piece connector designed and adapted to couple the forward lower end of said handle to said stud, said connector comprising a shank which is axially embedded in the forward lower end portion of said handle, said shank being integrally joined by an angular bent portion to an elongated flat-faced connector mounting head, said head being parallel to the top side of said plate and having a centralized portion provided with a substantially square opening conformingly fitted and removably and adjustably keyed on said stud and complemental anchoring shoulder, a head holddown and clamping nut screwed on the upper screw-threaded end of said stud and clampingly oriented and coordinated with said head, said shank being small in crosssection compared to the cross-sectional dimension of said head, the junctional portion between the rearward end of the head and forward end of the shank being bendable at will so that the vertical angularity of the handle relative to the normal horizontality of the plate can be regulated and set for acceptable push-pull and diversified handling requirements. 

1. A manually grippable and actuatable walkalong-type concrete edger comprising, in combination, a rigid plate having flat top and bottom sides and one straight marginal edge portion provided with a depending flange joined to said edge portion by a concaveconvex concrete contouring and edge-forming web, a rigid centralized upstanding stud having an enlarged lower end portion integrally joined to a central portion of said top side and a reduced upper end portion which is screw-threaded, said lower end portion being substantially square in cross-section and providing a head anchoring shoulder, an elongated push-pull handle amply along that it can be caught hold of and conveniently used while the user is standing or, alternatively, walking, a one piece connector designed and adapted to couple the forward lower end of said handle to said stud, said connector comprising a shank which is axially embedded in the forward lower end portion of said handle, said shank being integrally joined by an angular bent portion to an elongated flat-faced connector mounting head, said head being parallel to the top side of said plate and having a centralized portion provided with a substantially square opening conformingly fitted and removably and adjustably keyed on said stud and complemental anchoring shoulder, a head holddown and clamping nut screwed on the upper screw-threaded end of said stud and clampingly oriented and coordinated with said head, said shank being small in cross-section compared to the crosssectional dimension of said head, the junctional portion between the rearward end of the head and forward end of the shank being bendable at will so that the vertical angularity of the handle relative to the normal horizontality of the plate can be regulated and set for acceptable push-pull and diversified handling requirements. 